California State University, Chico has improved to the top 15 percent of all online bachelor degree programs in the country based on U.S. News & World Report’s annual assessment.

CSU, Chico placed 41st nationally among all universities ranked for their online programs, up from 75th place last year.

The magazine ranked the online academic programs of private and public universities that responded to recent surveys on factors such as student engagement, faculty credentials and training, peer reputation, and student services and technology.

Nearly 1,000 distance education programs submitted a completed U.S. News questionnaire, up from 860 programs the previous year. Only accredited, degree-granting institutions offering courses that are entirely online were considered in the rankings.

CSU, Chico ranked 41st among the 283 schools that offered bachelor programs and were evaluated. CSU, Chico received the highest ranking in that category in the California State University system.

“This is the third year U.S. News has assessed university online programs, and this is the third year CSU, Chico has received positive national rankings for our online degree completion programs,” said Debra Barger, dean of the Center for Regional and Continuing Education. “This news recognizes the University’s leadership in distance education and the 39 years of dedicated service to our students through the delivery of high-quality academic programs.”

CSU, Chico currently offers online bachelor degree completion programs in sociology, social science, liberal studies and nursing. During the 2012-2013 academic year, 206 students were working on online degree programs at CSU, Chico. Thirty-six faculty taught online courses for these programs during this period.

In addition to offering these online degree programs, the University also provides a robust schedule of wholly online courses to support students making progress toward on-campus degree programs.